1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electronic component examination device for electrically testing a packaged semiconductor chip or other electronic component in which electrodes are provided to both surfaces, and to an electronic component transport method that uses the electronic component examination device.
2. Related Art
Generally, this type of electronic component testing device is designed to feed, test, and discharge a target electronic component in accordance with procedures such as those that follow. Specifically, (a) the electronic component is placed on a tray, is fed from the exterior of the electronic component testing device prior to being tested, and is fed to a testing head by being held and transported by the holding part; (b) the electronic component thus fed is arranged in a testing socket by the testing head; (c) the electronic component arranged in the testing socket is recovered by the testing head after testing has been carried out by the testing socket; (d) the recovered electronic component is distributed by the holding part to the tray that corresponds to the quality of the testing result, and is discharged together with the tray to the exterior of the electronic component testing device. It is apparent from such a procedure that it is particularly important in terms of maintaining proper testing in such an electronic component testing device that the electronic component be correctly arranged with predetermined precision in the testing socket via the testing head, in other words, that the electrodes of the electronic component be correctly connected to the testing terminals disposed in the testing socket.
In recent years, tests are commonly performed on small-scale and high-integration electronic components having a structure in which electrodes are provided to both the upper and lower surfaces as described above, and another electronic component stacked on the upper surface is connected to the electrodes of the upper surface of the underlying component (POP: package-on-package).
A conventional testing device for testing an electronic component having such a package-on-package structure is generally provided with a contact terminal with which an upper-surface electrode of the electronic component makes contact when the electronic component held by a holding part is positioned in a testing socket, and a connection terminal for connecting the contact terminal to an electrode of the testing substrate on which the testing socket is arranged. The upper-surface electrodes of the electronic component are connected to the electrodes of the testing substrate interposed by the contact terminal and the connect ion terminal, whereby the lower-surface electrodes of the electronic component arranged in the testing socket and connected to the testing substrate can be electrically tested together with the upper-surface electrodes via the upper- and lower-surface electrodes.
On the other hand, various techniques have been proposed for correctly connecting the electrodes of an electronic component having narrow spacing to the contact terminals of a testing socket in order to handle the electrode spacing of an electronic component made smaller by miniaturizing and increasing the integration of the electronic component; and an example thereof is described in Domestic Re-publication of PCT International Patent Application No. WO2003/075023.
With the testing device described in Domestic Re-publication of PCT International Patent Application No. WO2003/075023, a binding/non-binding switching mechanism is provided to the holding-side arm holding an electronic component, and the electronic component being held is imaged from below. The position of the electronic component is corrected based on imaging results by position correction means composed of a unit separate from the holding-side arm, and the electronic component is secured to the holding-side arm in the position corrected by the binding/non-binding switching mechanism. The electrodes of the electronic component positionally secured in this manner are made to be in contact with the contact terminal of the testing socket. It is thereby possible to maintain the positional relationship between the testing head and the electronic component with good precision, and the arrangement of the electronic component in the testing socket by the testing head can maintained with high precision.